Death to the Queen

[amber4]

TRY NOT TO RUN FROM THIS FREEDOM ALWAYS HAS A PRICE TO PAY tagged: ash

It was the third night after the ceremony, but Niylah had a room of her own. Roan wasn’t going to force her into sharing a bed with him so soon... Though, she’d certainly thought about it. He was everything that she didn’t expect... Still, she was thankful for the time apart for now. Her room was much nicer than her hut by the wood stove... Her bed was so comfortable she didn’t stir when her door was opened. There were still some who were not supporters of the alliance between Azgeda and Trikru. They wanted to sabotage it. Only, the man in her room was not a loud protestor, but instead he held a wire chord in his hands, ready to strike. He was here for her life. Trikru would blame Azgeda for her murder... They would think twice before giving Azgeda one of their own.

The assassin was quick. He pulled Niylah from her bed and wrapped the chord tightly around her neck. She was barely awake as he hung her, pulling her against his chest with the chord. Her hands moved to it; trying to pry the sharp wire from her neck as she struggled to gasp for breath. She couldn’t even scream. With blurred vision, she reached out for a vase by her bedside and slammed it against her attackers head blindly. It made him stagger and drop Niylah, but she was quick to move away. The stuggle was loud as he reached for her again to strangle her with the chord. She managed to get her hand between the wire and her skin, which gave her some room to breathe, but the wire cut into her.

“Get off!” She said as loud as she could; kicking wildly. She didn’t have a weapon, but she managed to grab a shard of glass in her hand. Though it cut her, she swung back with the sharp edge and aimed to stab him in the neck. Instead she got his shoulder, but he let out a sound of pain.

OWL

[ash]

They were in the north of Azgeda where the eternal night reigned for a few more weeks. He was not the biggest fan, but nature, in turn, gave them their lights, part of what made Azgeda so special in his eyes. They had to wait for a night for this to occur, but, to Niylahs benefit, they wed under the lights. And to her benefit, he allowed her time. He needed her as Queen first, then he needed heirs. All of that had time. Roan had no intention of even coming close to provoking death any time soon and in the royal residence in the north, he didn’t expect anything to happen. He spent time in his quarters – right next to his wife, candles lighting up the table he worked on as he was fixing a pair of pants. He knew he should sleep, but for some reason he couldn’t sleep. Maybe that was why he heard the commotion next door so clearly.

His wife! Someone was attacking his wife. Roan immediately dropped the pants and reached for a knife. Within seconds he stood in his wife room, watching at she stabbed the warrior in the shoulder, though it was clear she had aimed for his neck, aimed to kill. Good. “Stand down!” Roan commanded, but he didn’t wait for the execution of the command. Without another second to spare, he hooked his arm around the mans neck and dragged him out of the room. There he quickly slit his throat so Niylah would not have to watch or deal with the blood of this lowlife. Motioning to a guard, he had them take the body and knife away before he returned to his wife. “Are you okay?”

amber4

[amber4]

TRY NOT TO RUN FROM THIS FREEDOM ALWAYS HAS A PRICE TO PAY tagged: ash

Roan's voice rang clear and hard over the struggle, but the command wasn't what made her attacker let go of the chord. Roan stormed in and grabbed him, making the assassin drop Niylah once again. She fell to the floor hard; slipping on the blood on her hands before she turned around to watch as her husband dragged the man out of the room. She held her hand to her neck and watched the nothingness with wide eyes, hearing only strangled gurgling as Roan slit his throat. She knew the sound of a man choking on his own blood... She didn't need to see it to know what happened. When he came back in, she barely heard him over her raging pulse. Adrenaline was a tricky thing. The danger was gone but her defences were sharp.

"Why did he--" That was a stupid question. Stupid questions weren't worth the breath it took to ask them... at least that was what her father would say if she asked him something so ridiculous. She checked her neck; making sure that the blood on her hands was not coming from the thin wound there. It wasn't... Only her hands bled. "I'm okay," she said quickly as she pressed her hands against the loose linen throw she wore. Slowly she stood, leaning against the wall and looking at Roan... Her expression was thick with gratitude, though still shocked with confusion. "Do... your people hate this union that much?" she asked weakly with a frown. "Will there be others that come for my head?" What if he wasn't there next time.... she certainly didn't feel safe in this room.

OWL

[ash]

She was okay. That was good. After everything this attack on her was not good for Azgeda, but those people didn’t understand that. Those people only understood one thing: Azgedas glory went above all. They despised him for this move and yet Roan knew, deep down it was the right move. He knew Azgedas strength had to come from the alliance, because that was their status quo now. And it would not change anytime soon. It couldn’t. The alliance was here, so they had to work with it. End of story. 

“They hate me more than you. You are just a stranger, a symbol of everything I do wrong.” Of everything he changed. He wasn’t his mother and they were beginning to grasp it. Some were welcoming it, some hated it and with that him. And with that came the desire to rid themselves of the queen to force the king – the only heir – to get back in line. His head was relatively safe due to his lack of an heir. “There probably are.” He wouldn’t lie about that. “I will assign more guards to you. Exclussively loyal. And I will contact Polis over this.” It was the best way he knew. She was trikru. Trikru had an interest in keeping his Queen alive, to keep her an ally. “Ask for Trikru guards for you. I suspect you’d trust them more than Azgeda.”

amber4

[amber4]

TRY NOT TO RUN FROM THIS FREEDOM ALWAYS HAS A PRICE TO PAY tagged: ash

“I trust you.” She replied shortly as she stood up and leaned on the bed for support. Her heart was pounding but she swallowed the acid that rose in her throat. “Any guards you trust, I will trust... You... you saved me.” Him being here gave her more comfort and more security than anything in the world... he wasn’t hurt, but she still moved towards him and checked him for any wounds. She couldn’t express her gratitude, or the feeling of security she had when he was close. She knew that the Azgeda king would protect her from anything and that... it meant everything. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she reached up to lace her blood free hand through his hair to pull him in closer. She kissed him deeply—unsure if it was gratitude or adrenaline that drove her to do it...

“Any guards that you think are best I will trust.” She pulled away after a moment and pressed her hand to her mouth, knowing that it was probably a little too soon. Then again they were married. He saved her... He had been nothing but kind. “Would it be wrong to ask you to stay with me?” she asked after a moment as she looked up at him. “I don’t know if you’re comfortable with it... you’ve been taking care of me so well I just... I want to consider your feelings as well. I would feel safer with you.”

She was honest; fear did that. It had a way of chewing away at her pride and anxieties. If anyone could keep her safe it was Roan. At the very least he needed her for this to work... whether or not he liked her as much as she had come to care for him was irrelevant.

OWL

[ash]

The answer came easy to him actually when he heard her request. She made it horribly complicated. In other relationships, ones born out of love, there would not even be such a question. Nor such a complicated explanation around it. The king reached for her hand. “Niylah, there is no need for such explanations. I will stay with you. I am your husband. You might not have married me because of love, but I am your husband and if it would be too much for me to spend the night with you, I would have married the wrong woman.” Roan lifted her hand to kiss it gently. 

“You have nothing to worry about for the rest of the night. And tomorrow I’ll make this assassination attempt public and warn off everyone who would dare to try and harm you. They must know the consequences. And I think it’s time I declare my interest in this union publicly and present you to all. How does that sound do you?” He hoped she was okay with it. Otherwise I will face them alone.”

amber4

[amber4]

TRY NOT TO RUN FROM THIS FREEDOM ALWAYS HAS A PRICE TO PAY tagged: ash

Niylah’s brains were still swaying in the wind as the adrenaline wore off steadily. Her heart began to slow, even as Roan took her hand to kiss it gently. Of course she was being over complicated—which was so, so funny when she thought about it. Niylah prided herself on her flippant way of life where she did what she wanted to in the moment... If Roan were Trikru and nothing more than her equal she would never be so erratic and flustered. Well, maybe she would have, but it would be out of love and not anxiety. Here it was so difficult to tell the difference... was she stary eyed and breathless because Roan was... indeed an incredible man—or was it because she only just survived an assassination attempt. She didn’t know.

“You make things... incredibly uncomplicated and straightforward,” she murmured a little quietly as she looked down at her hand. He was so calm in the face of danger. It was as if he wasn’t phased—or at least was unafraid. She hoped this wasn’t something he was just used to. Azgeda had enemies... Niylah once considered herself among them.

“Of course I’ll be a part of it,” she replied quickly. It snapped her out of her fog as she looked up at him. “The people should know...” It would be a show of strength after something like this... Slowly, she sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at him. “I’d be proud to stand with you while you make it known... Even if it is strange,” she trailed off and turned to fix the bed. She closed her hand to protect her palm and straightened up the pillows. “You can sleep in the bed... with me,” she flushed softly when she spoke. This was such a strange turn her life had taken.

OWL